The health board has promised to improve cancer-treatment waiting times after missing crucial national targets.

Less than 80 percent of patients in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) were receiving their first treatment within the 62-day Scottish Government target, according to latest figures.

It is some way off the 95 per cent target according to ISD Scotland forcing the health board to take action.

A NHSGGC spokesman told the Lennox Herald: “We want to reassure people in West Dunbartonshire we have introduced a number of specific measures and improvements to achieve this within the next quarter.

“This includes six new breast service advance nurse practitioners who took up post at the end of August, and a locum breast surgeon has been appointed pending the recruitment of a substantive consultant for the Clyde sector.

“New clinical pathways across NHSGGC are being developed and will reflect national best practice across all cancer types.

“We recognise how important this is for our patients across Clyde and Greater Glasgow, and all of these measures will help us to improve our cancer waiting times performance for them.”

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie criticised the figures as “shameful”.

She said: “We know that the faster a patient begins cancer treatment the greater chance they have of survival. It is shameful that patients in Greater Glasgow and Clyde are being failed on this each day, despite the best efforts of staff.

“The fact that in the last quarter, Greater Glasgow and Clyde fell below the national average yet still tried to remove the breast cancer service from the Vale of Leven Hospital shows their complete failure to put patients first.”